Supreme Court Bench Of Justices DY Chandrachud & Hima Kohli Hears Cases Till 9:10 PM, 5 Hours Extra Regular Timings
Breaking with its usual working hours, a Supreme Court Division Bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Hima Kohli, on Friday heard cases till 9:10 PM, for a total of approximately 10 hours and 40 minutes, barring the lunch recess. The apex court usually sits from 10:30 AM to 4:00 PM on weekdays. The Dussehra vacation is scheduled to start next week. Friday was the last working day...
Breaking with its usual working hours, a Supreme Court Division Bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Hima Kohli, on Friday heard cases till 9:10 PM, for a total of approximately 10 hours and 40 minutes, barring the lunch recess. The apex court usually sits from 10:30 AM to 4:00 PM on weekdays.
The Dussehra vacation is scheduled to start next week. Friday was the last working day before the festive interlude. The Bench went through all the cases in its daily docket before rising. Justices Chandrachud and Kohli concluded by thanking their staff, as well as the advocates.
The last record of sitting till 6:40 PM on August 16, 2022, also set by a Justice Chandrachud-led Bench, was broken. Earlier in August, Justice Chandrachud had spoken about hearing cases beyond the prescribed time. The senior-most puisne judge had revealed that the work did not usually end with the adjournment of the proceedings for the day and would have to be continued in the chambers till late at night.
In July, Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit (who was at the time next in line to become the Chief Justice of India) conducted an experimental hearing from 9:30 AM. He had observed that starting and finishing work early would give the judges more time in the evening to prepare for the matters to be heard on the following day. Chief Justice Lalit had orally remarked –
"If our children can go to school at 7 in the morning, why can judges not come to Court at 9?"
Justice Chandrachud is next in line to take over as the 50th Chief Justice of India after the incumbent CJI U.U. Lalit retires on November 8.